CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 18 Parkland women's basketball team used big second and fourth quarters to beat visiting Olney Central, 73-60, on Saturday inside the Donald Dodds Athletic Complex. Sophomore guard Crystal Mathis scored a game-high 17 points and brought down eight rebounds, while Shoente'ra Russell (13) and Alex Specht (11) also reached double figures. Defensively, point guard Olivia Babcock recorded a career-high six blocks to go along with five assists.

First taking the lead at the 9:27 mark in the second quarter, the Cobras outscored the Knights, 24-15, in the second quarter and never relinquished their advantage through the final buzzer. The Head coach Mike Lindemann's squad shot 46.7% from the floor on Saturday and received 29 points off the bench. Aggressive on the glass, Parkland outhustled the Knights for a 21-6 advantage in second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds and held the overall rebound advantage, 42-29.

Olney Central was the first out of the gate, scoring five of the game's six points before a pair of jumpers by Alex Specht cut into the lead. Olney stretched the lead back out to four, 9-5, before the Cobras rallied to take their first lead of the game, 10-9, on a three-pointer from Gemma Recasens. However, the Blue Knights went on an 8-0 spurt to take their biggest lead of the game, 17-10, and held on for a 17-15 advantage at the end of the quarter.

Building on the 5-0 run to end the first quarter, Parkland stretched the run to 14-0 over the course of the opening two minutes behind five free throws and a jumper from sophomore Micah Tapscott. Olney would twice battle back to within five points, only to have the Cobras push its lead to its largest of the half, 39-26, highlighted by threes from Madelyn Brouwer and Shoente'ra Russell. Despite a pair of late layups by Olney, Parkland carried a seven-point lead into the locker room with Mathis leading the team with 10 points, including eight in the second quarter.  

After twice pushing its lead back to 10 points to open the second half, Olney Central went on a 9-2 run midway through the third period to cut the Cobras lead down to three points, 46-43. Trading lay-ups and free throws during the remaining five minutes of the quarter, the Cobras pushed the lead back out to six points heading into the fourth quarter. A balanced offense in the third period, six Cobras combined for the team's 16 points while point guard Olivia Babcock recorded three of her six blocks, including one as time expired in the period.

In the fourth quarter, the Cobras defense held the Blue Knights to just 11 points on 33.3% shooting, while also forcing eight turnovers to clinch the win. Never letting the lead dip below six points in the final quarter, Brouwer delivered the dagger midway through the period with her second three of the day to take the momentum back after Olney Central gutted out two offensive rebounds and a jumper to cut the lead to seven points. Brouwer added a layup a minute later, and then three more Cobra layups, including the final two by Mathis, iced the 13-point victory.

Up next, the Cobras play their second straight home game on Wednesday, November 14, when they host Ancilla at 5:30 p.m. central time.